17 July 2025 - 10 January 2026
London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE
12 Walbrook
EC4N 8AA
London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE showcases a series of contemporary art commissions, responding and bringing fresh perspective to the site's archaeological history. The newest installation, Performance of Entrapment by Jane and Louise Wilson, opens tomorrow, marking the 15th site specific installation in the space.
Performance of Entrapment centres around 2,000-year-old oak stakes discovered during excavations for Bloomberg’s European headquarters believed to have once supported a crossing over the River Walbrook - an ancient waterway that flowed beside the Temple of Mithras, and still runs beneath the streets of modern London. Using microscopic imagery, the Wilsons draw inspiration from the wood’s structure and DNA sequencing, to create large-scale, visually layered artworks.
Performance of Entrapment investigates parallels between the Roman Temple of Mithras and Ise Jingu shrine in Japan — two sacred places dating to the 1st–3rd century BC. Though geographically and culturally distant, they both feature similarities in iconography and house significant relics: the head of Mithras in London, and the Sacred Mirror of the Emperor at Ise Jingu. A film by the Wilsons, created with shrine authorities within the grounds of Ise Jingu, explores sisterhood, duality and renewal.
The Wilsons explain, “Ise City is the home to the Ise Ondo, a traditional female folk-dance group that dates to the Edo period. The film, made with the group, explores re-enactment of traditions… This creates a feeling of being in two worlds at once - strange, yet familiar - like looking at ourselves through a mirror.”
By weaving together film, archaeology, and contemporary art Jane and Louise Wilson offer a powerful reflection on ancient shrines, memory, and time.
You can explore Performance of Entrapment with a free audio guide from the artists on Bloomberg Connects.
More information
Selected Press
The Recess: A Recessed Space Newsletter, An Interview with Jane & Louise Wilson, 28 July 2025
The Guardian, Sculpture in the City/Bloomberg Space review, 17 July 2025
The Art Newspaper, Artists travel back in time with work created from ancient wood discovered at site of lost London river, 17 July 2025
The Wick, Viewing Jane and Louise Wilson: Performance of Entrapment at Bloomberg SPACE, 18 July 2025
Heni Art News, Contemporary art from ancient oak, 14 July 2025
Apartman No.26, Jane and Louise Wilson’s “Performance of Entrapment”: Ancient Timbers and a Journey Through Time, 25 July 2025
image: Jane and Louise Wilson, Installation view of Performance of Entrapment at London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE, 2025. Photo: Marcus Leith